‘Matilda the Musical’ Offers Coup After Coup de Théâtre
8 / 10
The Royal Shakespeare Company's musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's 'Matilda' rushes at you from the stage of the Shubert Theatre-often literally-with the relentlessness of a high-speed rail train. Director Matthew Warchus' meticulously calculated production offers coup after coup de théâtre as it tells Dahl's fantastical tale of a 5-year-old girl who's a genius, the idiot family that mistreats her, the sadistic headmistress who terrorizes her, and the loving teacher who comes to her aid. The show is strenuously entertaining, as dark as it is funny, and just a tad cold.

